Improvement in door-springs



L.1P. SHERMAN & H. E. SMITH.

Door-Springs. N0.15],722. Patent-edlune9,1874.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS P. SHERMAN AND HENRY E. SMITH, OF BIDDEFORD, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DOOR-SPRINGS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 151,722, dated June 9, 1874; application filed May 11, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that we, LEwIs P. SHERMAN and HENRY E. SMITH, of Biddeford, in the county of York and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Closing Devices; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying' drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure lis a side elevation of a door and casing, parts broken out with our devices attached thereto. device that is attached to the casin g.

Same letters show like parts.

The purpose of our invention is to produce a device to elect the automatic closing of a door, and vat the same time to prevent the disagreeable slamming of the door when thus closing. We cause the door to close of itself by means of a coiled spring connected with the rotating cylinder a, and placed within it, the other end of the coil being attached to a central and fixed shaft, b. Attached to the outside of the cylinder a is the arm c, with the vertical projection (l carrying a roller, e. The top plate f is fixed to the door-casing, and the central shaft b passes through it and through the bottom of the cylinder a, thus allowing the cylinder to rotate independently of the top plate f and the central shaft b. On the lower end of the central shaft, immediately beneath the bottom of the cylinder, and free on the shaft, is the arm g, having the hook h and the straight part i. This cylinder,

with the accompanying devices th ns described,

is fastened to the casing above the door by means of a fiange,j, on the top platef. The device is so placed that the projection d shall pass down the side of the door, and bring the roller e against the same. When the door is opened, the arm c, turning with it, rotates the cylinder a, contracts the coiled spring around the central shaftl within the cylinder, and

thus, when the door is let go, provides a force which closes the door. Upon the side or face Fig. 2 is va top plan of thev of the door is placed the device 7c. This has,

a projecting bolt, l, which rises sufficiently above the top edge of the door to strike the hook h on the arm g. This arrangement is intended to produce a counteracting force suflicient to prevent the slamming of the door, while at the same time it does not prevent the shutting of the door. The bolt lis rendered adjustable in a slot, a, so that the amount of the counteracting force can be ac curately adjusted. The arln g can be arranged in either of two ways. It may have a spiral or otherk spring extending from the straight part z', and connected with the doorcasing, so that the force of this spring, when the boltl strikes the hook l1, shall prevent slamming of the door; or, as shown in the drawing, the arm g may be made fast 011 the central shaft b, and then, when the bolt Zstrikes the hook h, the throwing backward of this hook will tend to contract the coiled spring within the cylinder, which spring is being unwound by the closing of the door. In Fig. 2 is shown the arm m with a thu1nb-piece,0, and also holes p in the top plate. The thumbpiece projects through the arm m, and iits into these holes. The arm m is rigidly connected with the central shaft b. By screwing out the thumb-piece so that its end shall not project below the lower side of the arm m, the arm can then be turned around, and, carrying with it the central shaft, wind up the coiled spring within the cylinder to the desired tension. The thumb-piece can then be screwed downward over, and so as to sink into, one of the holes in the top plate, and thus hold the spring wound up. The arm g can, if desired, have in its straight part t' a slot, s, in which may work an adjustable stop, t, for the door to strike against when opened. Ais a side view in section ofthe device attached to the door, showing the slot in which works the adjustable projecting bolt l.

/Vhat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a door-closing device, of the cylinder a, shaft b, arm c, projection d, roller e, the coiled springarm g with its hook h, and the device 7c with its bolt Z, all n testimony that We claim the foregoing as arranged to operate as herein described. our own, We have affixed our signature in pres- 2. In combination with the cylinder a, conenee of two Witnesses.

taining the coiled spring, the shaft b and oar- LEWIS P. SHERMAN.

rying the arm c, with its adjunct-s, as de- HENRY E. SMITH.

scribed, the arm m, with its thumb-piece, and Vitnesses:

the holes in the top plate for the described pur- TIMOTHY ELLIOTT,

poses, as herein set forth. GYRUS l?. BERRY. 

